


Ghost!AU

by faerytold (orphan_account)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Ghost!AU, I would still love feedback though, So here is everything i have for it, i doubt i'll finish this i want you to know that going in, i wrote this for a thing a while back and then lost focus and motivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-25 07:08:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22051900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/faerytold
Summary: Emma just bought an old house for herself in the town where she hoped to make a new life, but it seems the house isn't as empty as it seemed.
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan
Comments: 9
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Getting Settled

The windshield wipers squeaked loudly in protest against the rain pelting down, the steel gray sky letting the world know the storm was only just beginning. Emma Swan pushed her long blonde hair behind her ear and let out a sigh. The last couple of years had held so many strange events and, if she were honest with herself, she was both happy and worried. 

A glance to the back seat, where her ten-year-old son was staring out the window. He was really the entire reason she was here. A smile spread across her face. “Hey, Kid, want to grab a bite to eat before we get to the house?”

Henry grabbed the back of the seat in front of him, shaking his head vehemently. “No way. We can go eat with Grandma and Grandpa after, but I have to see this house.” 

“Alright then.” Emma sped on. Another glance into the back seat showed her that Henry was now staring determinedly forward, as if making sure she wasn’t going to try to stop off anyway. “It’s just a few more minutes.”

The beat-up yellow Volkswagen Beetle turned on to a gravel driveway shortly after. Henry gasped as she put the car into park. The house was grey and old, with large porches and a high roof. Henry all but jumped out of the car and ran to the house. Emma followed at a slower pace. 

It was a nice house, and one of the few in her price range in this town. It seemed the previous owner was desperate to get rid of it after having it on the market for years, and took her first offer. It did need some work, but it wasn’t anything she wouldn’t be able to handle. 

She grabbed a bag and a box out of the trunk - all of the possessions she had cared to bring with her from Boston - and followed Henry. From the sounds of footsteps, he was already upstairs looking around. “I found my room,” he called down after the door slammed. 

The furniture had been updated and included in the house, which suited Emma just fine. It meant she didn’t have to worry about buying everything at once and could update it as she wanted. 

“Mom!” Henry yelled, jumping down the steps. “Mom, you can see the ocean! Let’s go look!”

She grabbed his arm and looked him dead in the eye. “Hood up. Your other mother would kill me if I let you get sick.”

They walked out the front door and around the house. The backyard ended in a sheer cliff, nearly 100 yards above the water. The waved crashed into the rocks harshly in warning of the coming storm. “I’m going to have to put up a fence,” she muttered. 

A lightning bolt crashed from the sky and Henry jumped beside her. She put her arm around his shoulders. “Alright Kid, let’s go meet everyone. Think they’re at Granny’s?”

Henry grinned. “Where else?”

Dinner at the diner had been the five of them: Emma, Henry, Snow and David Nolan, and Regina. Driving back home alone gave Emma time to think. Just a year ago, Henry had knocked on her shabby apartment door in Boston, claiming to be the son she had give up for adoption years earlier. That had led her to discovering Regina, his mother, and her parents. It was hard fought on all sides, and a whirlwind of crazy, but eventually they all settled. Emma and Regina came to an agreement about Henry, even if Regina only relented initially because Henry wanted her to. But now they were all here, all together. They were family. 

She walked into the dark house, dropping her keys onto the table by the door. The storm was really raging now, and all Emma wanted to do was collapse into her bed. She groaned and made her way up the stairs. She looked out her bedroom window, which faced the ocean. Lightning looped from cloud to cloud, illuminating the sky for brief seconds at at time. 

She squinted out the window, waiting for the next lightning strike. And there it was again. A perfect silhouette of what seemed to be a ship - the sort you see being sold in bottles. Masts and sails and ropes everywhere. With the next lightning strike, it was gone. 

She shrugged and turned. She really needed sleep. 

Emma never had much trouble getting to sleep no matter where she was. Ever since she had been a baby, she had been moved from home to home, from bed to park bench to concrete slab. While she liked a nice, warm bed, it wasn’t a necessity for her to have for a good night’s sleep. Noise wasn’t usually an issue either. She had spent enough time sleeping by train tracks and and the upper part of underpasses for general loud noises to wake her. 

So when, at 3 a.m., she found herself lying in bed staring out the window, she knew it wasn’t the bed or the thunder or the crashing sea keeping her awake. With a sigh, she stood and walked to her bedroom window. She gazed back into the storm, not really seeing it. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, releasing it slowly. 

This whole situation made her happy. Well, mostly happy. She had her fears, her doubts, but that was only human, right? Besides, at least she wasn’t alone anymore.

With a glance back at the door that led to the darkened hallway, and the thought of the hallway that led to so many places in the much-too-large house, she pondered that thought. She knew exactly what she was feeling. It was the same thing she had felt so many times before.

Emma trusted her instincts. She had honed them, fended for herself, since she was old enough to understand she wasn’t really wanted. She shook her head briefly, trying to dispel the thoughts. The rain had gone now, the storm fully over the ocean. 

She bought this house. She found her parents. She found her son. She basically has the family she’s always wanted.

So why doesn’t it feel like it?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It should be understood that these were edited and I didn't even touch them and I am very sorry to my editor

A week of constant storms wouldn’t have bothered Emma so much if they had affected the entire town. Rain happens. What doesn’t happen is rain over one specific area for an extended period of time. 

There are other annoying things. She thinks she puts something in one place, only to find it in another. Such as now, with her car keys that she always puts on the table next to the door. She lets out a huff of frustration. She’s already on the verge of being late picking Henry up from school and now she can’t even find her keys. 

She turns and observes the house, thinking. When she made it home from the station last night, she had been exhausted. Storybrooke wasn’t like Boston when it came to crime - what sleepy little town was? - but it wasn’t free of crime, either. Some teenagers had tried to rob a gas station as a prank because they knew their friend was there alone. It had been a late night dealing with parents and laws and a paperwork. Maybe she had left them on her dresser instead?

Suddenly there were footsteps from above. She furrowed her brow and looked up. No one else was here - she was nearly certain. But those sounded heavier than any animal that might have somehow found its way in. Nearly like boots on the hardwood. 

She crept up the stairs, reaching back to get her gun. She heard the distinct sound of a door opening and shutting, as if someone was trying to be quiet. Her heartbeat pulsed. It had to be a person. She was careful as she crested the stairs, looking every way. All the doors were open. Not a sign of a closed door anywhere. 

That didn’t matter. Maybe the intruder realized their mistake and opened the door again. The sound had came from the left, so Emma moved that way, toward the bathroom. She didn’t say anything as she entered and swung the gun. 

No one. 

The shower was open for her to see. The linen closest didn’t have a door. There wasn’t a soul in the room. 

Still, there were three more, which she searched, all while keeping her ears perked for movement. All three rooms and closets, all nooks and crannies where someone could possibly hide, even the underside of tables, Matilda-style, and she didn’t find any evidence that someone had been there. 

She did find her keys next to the coffee pot. 

Now she was really late picking up Henry. With a soft swear, she grabbed her keys and ran out the door, peeling out of the driveway so quickly she sprayed gravel. 

She had her excuse lined up to give to Regina for why she had been late, but Regina wasn’t there. Just Henry and his teacher, sitting on the curb. She jumped out of the car. “I am so sorry,” she started, but the teacher waved her off. 

“It’s okay. Henry was telling me how excited he was for his weekend with you.” The teacher smiled as Emma helped Henry into the car. 

She didn’t drive straight home. Instead, she veered off to the side, driving toward the beach just below her new house. “You remembered!” Henry exclaimed, only the seatbelt keeping his excitement contained.

***

The day was mild. Clouds blew in front of the sun periodically, keeping it cool enough to play while the time the sun peaked out kept it warm enough. It was a nice balance. 

Regina had replaced the old equipment last year around the time Emma had arrived. It had actually been a source of tension between Regina and Henry, but ultimately that rift had been mended. In fact, Emma would wager that Regina and Henry’s relationship was doing wonderful. Seeing the new equipment had gone a long way to his forgiveness of her. 

For the first few months, they had spent a lot of time here. Now, not so much. Emma felt her smile fade as she watched Henry climb and slide and shimmy around the play area, fighting off dragons and evil sorcerers. 

She didn’t spend nearly as much time with him now as she had then. Since she had moved here, really. She had been staying with her parents for a while before finding this house and making the assumption official. 

She looked out toward the faded yellow bug she had driven since she was a teen. For the longest time, her longest relationship had been the one she had with that vehicle. Now she had all these people who depended on her. People who trusted her enough to patrol the streets, armed and in a cruiser. She had slept in it more times than she could count. It was old and worn out, but she adored it. 

“Mom!” Henry yelled. He raced over to her. “I’m starving. Can we go get Granny’s?”

Emma took a deep breath. “How about I make you some grilled cheese instead.”

“And hot chocolate?” Henry gave her a hopeful smile, looking up at her in a way he knew she couldn’t resist. She nodded. “Yes,” he said, pumping his arm. Then he took off toward the bug. 

Emma knew she had bought this place. The broken shutters were hers. The creaky stairs were hers. The slight warping of the floor was hers. The must smell was hers. It was her house, but she still didn’t feel comfortable calling it home. 

It always felt like she was intruding. She wasn’t certain what it was. She lived alone. There shouldn’t have been any reason for her to feel that way. Still, walking into the house with Henry, while affording a more comforting sense than walking into a room at Granny’s or her parents, still felt objectively wrong. 

Henry went straight to the television, turning it onto whatever show it was he was fascinated with this week. Emma felt like he always had his head in the clouds, but she wouldn’t have changed it. She loved that he had a real childhood. 

She tensed as she walked into the kitchen. Her red scarf was on the counter. Her brow furrowed as she stared at it. It wasn’t even remotely time for the scarf to be out of its little box at the top of her closet. How had it made it to the kitchen? Her mind flashed back to just a couple hours earlier when she had been certain she had heard footsteps upstairs. 

“Henry,” she called. “How about we get Granny’s after all?” She walked into the living room to see Henry engrossed in an old book. “Hey Kid, did you hear me?” He looked up from his book, eyes losing the glazed look they’d had when he’d been reading, and shook his head. “I’m out of bread. Guess it’s Granny’s after all.”

He was clutching his book closely as he stood.


	3. Chapter 3

It wasn’t every morning Emma woke up wanting to strangle Regina Mills, but it was this morning. She wondered if the Mayor knew it was o’dark thirty in the morning. On a Monday, no less. After a moment, Emma’s eyes adjusted to the brightness of her phone screen and she was able to read Regina’s message. 

>Henry can’t find his Storybrooke History book in his backpack. He must have left it at your house and he needs it for a school project. Can you check and bring it by today? Thank you. -Mills

Emma snorted. No matter how many times Emma told the woman, who was clearly young enough and tech savvy enough to understand without explanation, that she didn’t need to sign each text, she did so anyway. “As Mayor, it’s important to look professional.” Emma rolled her eyes at the voice in her head. 

She groaned as she stood. She had distinctly seen Henry put the book in his bag as he packed up to go back to Regina’s. “Does Regina realize I dropped Henry off before work?” She stumbled out of bed and was only halfway to the light switch when her foot unexpectedly hit something and she nearly went flying. 

With a grumble, she found the light switch and flicked it on. The light was nearly blinding - infinitely brighter than her phone screen. Then she saw what made her trip. 

Of course it was Henry’s book. It made about as much sense as it being anywhere else. But the book alone wasn’t it. A left boot was there - that seemed to also be what she had kicked. Plus her makeup case. 

Either her memory was failing her, or something really weird was going on. As a cop, she had the training to deal with this sort of situation for other people, but for herself? She couldn’t think of a single sensible explanation for any of it. She grabbed her phone from where she had dropped it on her pillow and texted Regina back. 

Would love to see you today. Will you come to dinner at our place? And bring Henry. 

She gave a sigh. It was just after noon now, and her shift didn’t start until eight, so there wasn’t much of a reason to say no. 

< I would love to. what time?

The reply was immediate. 

>5\. See you then. I love you.

Emma sighed. Her relationship with her parents was a strange one. Somehow, the hospital had confused her with another child whose parents had put it up for adoption. Snow had been very ill after the birth and David had been stuck away from her due to his military deployment. By the time anyone realized the mistake, someone had messed up the paper trail and Emma had been entered into the system. 

Now she had her parents, people she had always thought didn’t want her, welcoming her with open arms and open hearts. It was strange, meeting your parents for the first time at the age she had, but they had worked out the awkwardness. Mostly. 

She still wasn’t used calling them mom and dad. It was normally David and Snow. But they doted on her. They doted on Henry. They did everything they could to spend time with her, and she (mostly) went along with it. 

Emma squeezed her eyes shut. Finding her parents had filled a part of her she hadn’t realized was missing. Finding Henry and Regina had filled other parts. They had all become something of a family and she found herself loving it. Even if it terrified her sometimes. 

She shook her head, sniffling and laughing at herself. She was just reaching up to wipe away a bit of moisture from her eye when a tissue box fell. She looked up at the shelf full of old figurines of ships and the like. She hadn’t placed them up there, they had been there when she arrived. 

And she certainly hadn’t placed this box of tissues there either.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this one i did accept fix some stuff natasha suggested. Thank you so much.

Despite what some people thought, Emma wasn’t stupid. That being said, she did know that her current and sudden obsession with the cliff jumpers had developed far beyond what would have been normal, even for someone living on the cliff itself. In the week since she had read the section in Henry’s book, she had exhausted the public library’s information on the subject - that had only been a copy of the book Henry had and one other - and everything she could think to search online. 

As much as she was loathed to do it, she knew she needed to ask someone who had their pulse on the happenings in the town. Now, if this had still been Boston, she would have visited a few bars, found the more popular diners, and then the bail bonds people. Now? For Storybrooke? Those might work, but there was one source better than those...

Gold’s Pawn Shop was dark and dusty. She wasn’t sure he ever sold anything. The little golden bell above the door chimed as she walked in. The dust swirled through the air and against the dull tinted windows. She swelled with relief when she saw Gold’s wife was working. 

“Belle!” Emma

The brown haired woman looked up, a smile on her face. “Emma, how good to see you.” 

“Yeah, same.” She made it to the counter, cautiously resting her hands on the nearly-shining glass in front of the register. “I need some information.”

Belle smiled. “I am the town librarian.” She moved from behind the counter and started moving toward the door. “What sort of information?”

“Do you know anything about Fervor Fall?” Emma pressed her lips together as Belle’s eyes narrowed, her gaze rolling toward the ceiling as she thought. 

She tapped on one of the glass cases. “You know, that does sound familiar. I remember reading about it in a book about Storybrooke’s history. I think I have a copy in the library, if you’d like to check it out?”

Emma plastered a smile to her face. “I’ve read that one, actually. But thank you.”

“I’ll be on the lookout.” Belle twisted her mouth to the side and gave a half shrug. “I’m sorry I wasn’t more help.”

Back at her house, Emma stared out the window to the cliff. While she knew it shouldn’t be this important to her, she could not let the questions she had go. Why had so many people come to jump to their death? How could they have believed that jumping would help them find their true love, especially when all those before had died from the fall? What was the purpose of it all?

She turned quickly from the window and stopped, staring directly at the wall opposite. There had been someone there - a man. He had short hair and intense eyes and the strangest clothes. Then he was gone. She shook her head. “Get a grip, Swan,” she muttered to herself. With that, she decided it was perhaps time to find something else to think about. 

Something else turned out to be a hot chocolate with cinnamon at Granny’s. Emma sat at the counter, stirring her drink slowly. The other patrons of the diner milled about, talking about their day to day lives, like she so often did with Henry and Regina or her parents. 

Ruby leaned on the bar opposite of Emma, her arms crossed. “You’d think that was whiskey after a bad break up.” With a shake of her head, Emma offered Ruby a small smile. “Seriously, Emma. What is bothering you?”

“I’m going to sound crazy.” Neither of them spoke for a moment. “I think my house is haunted. It’s on this cliffside that used to be a really popular suicide spot.”

Ruby nodded. “Yeah, Fervor Fall. Great history.”

Emma’s eyebrows raised. “You know it.”

“Naturally. I love all things cryptid. Plus, growing up around here, you’re privy to all the usual local legends.”

“So you know about the siren that lures men in.”

Ruby snorted. “Sure I’ve heard that one, but it isn’t that fun. My favorite tale though, is one that has merit. It’s true! Or based in truth, anyway.” Ruby leaned in conspiratorially, lowering her voice. “See, there was this ship’s captain...and he loved this woman, but…” Ruby paused, making a slight grimace.

“But what?” asked Emma, enthralled by Ruby’s tale.

“She wasn’t exactly single. The captain? He didn’t know she was married or that she had a kid either. Unfortunately for the both of them, he husband found out. A lot of stuff happened between the three of them and she ended up running away with the captain.” Ruby grinned for a moment. “This is where their tale ends though. The husband found them as they were casting off. Their plans were to set sail for England and start over with a new life...but the ship never made it out of port.” Ruby leaned back and shook her head. “The wife ended up overboard while the two men were fighting. Neither of ‘em heard the splash or her cries for help. But once they realized what happened, it was too late and there was nothing left to fight for, so they stopped. Eventually, the husband moved away and became a powerful guy. The captain though, he still missed the woman.”

Emma leaned closer. “And then? What did he do? What happened?”

“By then, the legend was a really well known myth”, continued Ruby. “Anyways, during a really bad storm-probably a hurricane- the captain went up to the cliffside. The last caretaker of the house was still there at the time, and tried to stop him, but couldn’t. Before the captain jumped, the caretaker said he spoke: ‘I loved her with the very essence of my being. The legends say this siren will take me to her. Will it? Probably not. But my death will. All I want is to give myself my best chance at finding my soulmate.’ And then he jumped.”

Emma took a deep breath. “And that’s a true story you say?”

Ruby nodded. “Yeah. It’s all documented in old newspapers in the library.”

She should have left it at that. Emma knew she shouldn’t bother with it, but she couldn’t help doing so. She walked out of the diner and made her way down main street, looking for a certain librarian.


	5. Chapter 5

Jumper at Fervor Fall

Fervor Fall’s Claims Another Victim

Watch-house Shutdown Still Happening

Fervor Fall’s Latest Victim Still Not Found

There were around a dozen articles that had been written about the man Ruby had told Emma about. Most of the facts lined up with what Ruby had said, as well. Emma assumed Ruby had read these same articles. 

Killian Jones had moved to Storybrooke just a couple years before his untimely death. He was in his mid-thirties. No family that anyone knew about, his co-workers had said he was closed off. 

Other than his name and age, the only other information Emma had discovered was that he didn’t have a left hand. It had been mentioned in one of the articles about the search for his body - a reminder that it was an easy way to identify him. No one knew how he had lost it. Only that he had declined a prosthetic hand and opted for a metal hook, claiming it would help him in fishing. 

There was one line, mentioned nearly as an afterthought, in the last article she had read. She had been putting off looking through everything that had been left in the house for the last couple of weeks, but now motivation had found her. 

With no one to step forward, and no knowledge of anyone to contact, the hook that had been found was stored in the watch house. 

Emma started in the attic. After all, where else would someone want to keep a dead man’s hook, especially when the assumption was that no one would ever claim it. She worked for hours, lost in her task, so that she didn’t hear the knock on her front door or the footsteps on the ladder leading into the attic. 

“Emma?” called Snow’s voice, her head poking through the opening. She stifled a cough at the amount of dust in the air. “What are you doing up here?”

Emma rubbed her face with her hand, looking up at Snow’s lined face, the slowly graying hair. “Just looking.”

A dark colored box, turned a nasty brown-gray color, caught Snow’s attention. She looked over at Emma. “Do you mind if I help?” She picked up the box, her finger following the curve of the latch. “Could be fun.”

“Yeah. I’d like that.” Emma watched as Snow opened the box, music tinkling through the air. The older woman smiled, her eyes crinkling in a well practiced smile. Emma found herself wanting to memorize the face, the small gestures and mannerisms that her parents had. 

Sometimes - most of the time, really - she resented the cards they had been dealt. Stripped from a family that would love her because of someone else’s decision and given a rougher childhood than either of her parents would have wanted. She thought of all the times she had wished on the first star of the night, hoping against hope that her parents would save her from where she was and whisk her off to be the princess of some faraway kingdom. 

Then she had grown up and realized what the system was and what it meant to be in it. Finding her parents after so long, seeing the money and extent they had gone through, the effort they had put into finding her, she couldn't deny they had loved her with all their heart. Now they were doing their best to make up for the time they lost. 

And so was Emma. “That’s a really pretty song,” she said. The melody wasn’t long, so after a few cycles she started to hum along. Snow wound the music box so that it would play for the longest possible time, then set it down where it would be safe.

“Okay then.” Snow clapped her hands together and smiled at Emma. “Let’s get started.”

The music from the box transformed into playlists from their phones, and eventually just chatter as they worked. Emma dropped a box into the garbage pile that Snow had started. “Why don’t you let me treat you to dinner at Granny’s?”

Snow nodded. “Okay. Let me get this last box,” she said, reaching above her head. She was on the tips of her toes, fingers poised to grab the first smallest box on the top, when the entire stack fell, taking Snow with them. 

Emma rushed forward, her stomach dropping. “Mom!” Snow sat up and looked around, holding her shoulder. Emma dropped to her knees, searching Snow’s body for signs of injury. “Are you okay?”

Emma looked back up to see a grin on Snow’s face. “I’m fine,” she said. “I guess I pulled on the wrong box.” She looked around them, at the boxes and assortment of junk that had been kept in them that littered the floor. “Sorry.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay.” Emma took a steading breath. She was helping Snow to her feet when the glint of something shiny caught her eye. Frowning, she moved forward. She reached under a blanket that had been stored in one of the boxes and pulled out a shiny, silver hook. She looked to Snow, eyes wide. “I don’t think that was your fault.”

~

Crispy burnt fries were all that Emma and Snow had left on the plate between them, milkshake glasses completely empty to the side. “You think your house is haunted.” Snow didn’t say it in a judgemental way, but Emma felt her guard going up regardless. 

“No. Yes.” Emma sighed. “I don’t know. Doesn’t it all seem like a huge coincidence to you?”

Snow lowered her shoulders and shook her head. “No. You read about a hook being stored in your house and went looking for it. I’m not at all surprised you found it.” Snow chewed her bottom lip. “Is everything okay, Emma?”

They might have only known each other, really known each other, for a year, but Emma understood the meaning and the depth behind those words. Somehow, that scared her more than seeing the boxes fall, or the hook, or anything else in the past year. 

“I’m fine,” she said, looking toward the counter. 

Snow shook her head. “No, you’re not.” She reached across the table and took Emma’s hand. “If you really believe in this, I do too. Because I believe in you.”

“There’s something else,” Emma added, quietly, her voice low, nearly hoping Snow wouldn’t hear what she had said. She stared intently at Snow’s hand on hers. 

Any listening genies were apparently serving other masters. “What is it?”

Emma swallowed. “I know how it sounds but…I saw him.” She looked up at Snow. “It was brief. Before I even bought into this. But I saw him.”

Snow took a deep breath in through her nose and released it slowly. “Okay. You saw a ghost in your house.”

Emma took her hand back to hide her face in. “I don’t know. I feel insane.”

“Emma,” Snow said. Her voice was cautious, making Emma shoot her a questioning glance. It looked like it pained Snow to say her next words. “You aren’t thinking of leaving, are you?”

Leaving. The thought hadn’t really crossed her mind. She had been so wrapped up in the mystery of her house. She shook her head. “No. I feel - I don’t want to leave Henry, or you and David.” She stood. “I think I just need some sleep. I’ve got a shift in an hour, but then I think I’m going to really take the time to get some shut eye.” 

She leaned down and hugged Snow tightly, quickly. “I’ll see you later, okay? Just forget all this.”

She felt Snow’s concerned gaze on her the entire way out the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Snow came over every day for the next week to help Emma clean out the attic. And, Emma thought, to keep a watch on her sanity. She didn’t trust herself to not be going mad, so why would anyone else believe her? If she hadn’t been experiencing it, she wouldn’t have believed it herself. 

The hook had become the centerpiece of her coffee table. Henry had asked about it when he came to visit and, not wanting to give Regina a reason to stop letting her see him, she had just said she thought it was neat. How was she supposed to explain to her ten year old son she thought her house was haunted? 

The first day Snow didn't show up was also the her day off. Henry had a club after school, so Regina wouldn’t be letting him come over at all. For the first time in a while, Emma was truly alone with her thoughts. If what the newspaper had said was true, he had jumped to find his soul mate, and clearly he still hadn’t found her if he were lingering here. 

Emma held the hook in her hand, studying it, willing it to reveal it’s owners secrets. She rubbed her hand down her face, groaning. “I’ve gone from Emma, harbinger of justice, to Emma, believer in ghosts.” She threw the hook onto the table. “What am I doing?” She needed to get out. Stop thinking about this. She needed a distraction of some sort. She needed a drink.

She was just about to stand when a crash came from upstairs. She narrowed her eyes at the ceiling before going to investigate. She checked her room first, stopping in the doorway. The shelf that had set above the bed and held various trinkets from the previous residents had fallen. 

A ship in a bottle rolled and hit her foot. Clumps of dust were spread across her bed. A few pictures frames with pictures so faded she could barely make out what they were and a paper. Only one, folded neatly in half, had landed on her bed. 

Ignoring the rest of the mess, she picked the papers up. They were hand written, seeming to be diary entries. 

Emma folded her legs beneath her and began to read. 

They say they’re shutting down the watch house. I would say it’s good. Save the most recent case, it hasn’t been needed in nearly half a decade. They gave us the option to continue to live here. I was going to. It has such a beautiful view.

But I can’t. Things are changing. This house used to be so peaceful. It’s changed since he jumped. I hear noises that were never there before. My grandma agrees. That man was different. I wish he’d never came to this town. 

I saw him today. I was brushing my hair out and I saw him in the mirror, down to his missing hand. His hook was in my room, but I hid it in the attic. Maybe he’ll leave me alone now. 

Mom and dad are staying, but I’m going with grandma. He bought a cute little house on Main Street. We’re moving tomorrow.

I’m just so scared. What if this spirit wants revenge?

Ruby Lucas

Emma blinked. Ruby. Ruby, who had really fueled this obsession. Ruby, who had told her this case was true. 

Ruby who was just a short drive away. Emma folded the paper and put it in her pocket, and all but sprinted out of the house, failing to notice the hook missing from the table. 

Emma was certain she looked like a madwoman when she rushed into Granny’s. The thing was, she didn’t care. Emma needed answers and Ruby would be the one to give them to her. Her eyes zeroed in on the slender figure almost instantly. 

“What is this?” Emma demanded, slamming the diary entry onto the counter. 

Ruby paused. “What’s gotten your panties in a twist?” Emma just glared at her, so Ruby rolled her eyes and picked up the paper. She scanned it briefly then snorted. “Yeah, I didn’t write this.”

Emma bristled. “It’s your name, Ruby. You could have just told me it was some weird thing from when you were a kid.”

Ruby leveled Emma with a flat, cold stare. “Emma, I like you. We’re friends. But keep this up and I’ll throw you out.”

That seemed to have gotten Granny’s attention. “Why are you throwing Emma out?” She looked between the two women. “Normally it’s - well, neither of you are the giggling type, but you get the idea.”

“Emma,” Ruby started, “is crazy.” She gave a tight-lipped smile to Emma. “She thinks I’m old enough to have written this.” She thrust the paper at Granny and stalked off. 

Granny glanced at the paper. “Oh my.” She looked up at Emma. “I know you aren’t from around here. That old house hasn’t been a watch-house since before Ruby was born. She isn’t the Ruby Lucas you’re looking for.” Granny straightened a little. “I am.”

Emma stopped for just a moment. “You?” The newspapers - yes, the dates had matched up to be about right, with what Emma knew of the older woman's age. 

“Yes. It isn’t widespread. Ruby is my middle name, not a lot of folk know.” Granny sighed. “That was a dark time for the town. Ruby told me you’re living there now.”

“I saw him, too.” The words just fell out of her mouth. Really, it was that diary entry that did it. As a kid, Granny had been convinced he was there. Maybe she hadn’t lost that belief. 

Granny nodded. “He’s looking for his soul mate.” She took a deep breath and shook her head. “Too bad he’s never going to find her.”

Back home on the couch, Emma stared blankly at the wall. Maybe this wasn’t such a mystery at all. Maybe she had built it all up too much in her mind. She needed a hobby. 

At least, until she realized the blank wall in front of her wasn’t so blank after all. 

Killian Jones stared at her from the previously blank wall. “Leave.”

Emma didn’t react. Instead, she took him in. The pictures she had seen in the news paper really didn’t do him justice. Hark hair, the bangs falling into his blue eyes. A strong, sturdy build, straight back. The scowl was different. It wasn’t that he was smiling in the pictures she had seen, but he wasn’t actively angry, either. He wasn’t exactly transparent, but he didn’t seem to be all there, either. It was like looking at an old photograph. 

“Do you have a death wish?” Killian asked.

Emma raised her eyebrows. “No. But I’m not afraid of you.” She sat back on her chair. “Maybe if you had showed yourself a few weeks ago, but now I’ve learned all about you.” Her face fell into a softer look. “Now I just want to help you.”


	7. Chapter 7

It took time. Weeks went by. The end of summer had passed, as had most of fall. Emma had slowly found herself getting used to her intangible roommate. Sometimes she slipped up and said ‘we’ instead of ‘I’, but mostly, everything was good. 

She had pulled the story out of Killian; how he’d lost his love, the man who had been married to her, and her death. 

Killian blamed himself. Fixing that, Emma knew, was her goal. It really wasn’t Killian’s fault - at least, not entirely. 

It had been raining the night they had sat on the couch, Emma cocooned in a blanket to protect from the chill Killian gave off. He had just finished laughing, telling her one of his fishing adventures. His face had sobered quickly. 

“Milah,” he started. “She was amazing. She had plans, you know. She was going to take my little dock working job and turn it into gold.”

The look on his face pained Emma, a heavy discomfort in her chest. “Killian,” she sighed. 

He held up a hand, shaking his head. “I know, Swan. You think I need to let her go.” He stood, pacing. “How can I? I asked to be taken to my soulmate and ended up here. What does that tell you? She’s here.”

Emma’s hand sneaked out of the blanket fortress to grip the handle of a mug of hot chocolate. “Tell me about her. Please?” She had asked countless times, but tonight she felt lucky. 

Killian stood still for a moment before nodding. “Aye. I will.” Then he sat again, turned toward her. “I don’t even know where to start. She was beautiful, but if that had been all, I could have left. No. She was a raging sea. Wild.” Emma watched as his adam’s apple bobbled. Could he swallow? “There are so many things I could tell you about her.”

“How did you meet?” 

“At a tavern.” The bittersweet smile he had been wearing turned into a bitter frown. “Everyone there knew she had a husband. I expect that’s how we were discovered. I hate that man.”

Emma straighten a little. “Why did you continue, even after you realized she was married?”

Killian shook his head and stared at the table. “She said he didn’t give her what she needed. That he wasn’t the husband she had once happily married.” He looked back over to her. “I’ve had so many years to think about that. I’m not certain I believe it anymore. They had a son. I didn’t find out until I found your research, but they did.” He was quiet for so long, Emma thought he was finished. She was about to stand when he spoke again. “I do regret it, now.”

Emma considered all the stories he had told her before. Milah, who had convinced Killian to buy a boat. Milah, who had ran away from a husband and son. Milah, who had lied to the man time and time and time again. Emma didn’t like her at all. 

She sat her hot chocolate down and went to place a hand on his arm, forgetting temporarily that she couldn’t. Her hand passed right through him, as if he wasn’t there. Most fiction would have a person believe ghost are cold or give some reaction when interacted with. They don’t. It was as if he were just an image in her mind.

Maybe he was. Emma wasn’t certain. But if he was, she didn’t want him to go away.


	8. the outline of the whole story

Outline

Emma moves fully to storybrooke  
Emma is settled but uneasy - she wants to run away again  
Strange things happen - stuff moves, noises, lot’s of storms that only affect her house  
She has trouble sleeping  
She considered moving - Regina and Emma aren’t bffs in this so Regina is okay with that but Mary Margret and David are not  
Henry is upset  
Henry finds old pirate tale - Emma is like, well that’s neat   
Just before she decides she is going back to Boston, Hook show’s himself bc he is annoyed that she stays up so late when it’s supposed to be his turn in the house or something or maybe he’s just wanting to convince her to leave, yeah let’s do that it’s more believable.   
She is surprised and grabs a lamp - it must be a lamp  
They talk and she figures out he’s a ghost of a fisherman - not a pirate at all, although he would have loved to have been one - he spend much of his life on the water  
Backstory sorta similar to canon - a woman leaves her husband to be with hook - although he doesn’t exactly know she had a husband before - and finally the husband shows up and the two fight  
Hook gets his hand severed in the fight and the woman dies   
Hook becomes a drunk and ends up falling into the sea or something idk i’ll work on that some it needs to be more like hook - he’s searching for the man bc he wasn’t arrested and wants revenge, just like in the show yes perfect  
Well, he finds the man and again, they fight BUT he and hook take a tumble and hook hits his head wrong and dies i think that’ll be better  
so now he hasn’t moved on to whatever lies next bc he need revenge  
Emma tries to keep him a secret for a bit  
Henry finds out  
And then so does David and MM and Regina - who is just happy that Emma isn’t as insane as she’s been acting  
Finally hook has let go of his anger and desire for revenge but he is still here  
And then one day Emma gets into a shootout or something and hook is really worried and he yells at her and tells her he loves her and she admits she loves him  
And even though she knows she can’t she tries to kiss him  
Except their lips meet  
Hook his human again  
He is flesh and blood and hey, look at that, Emma is finally happy completely bc she has everything her heart knew it wanted - Henry, her parents, and Killian Jones


End file.
